Eternally Linked
by Frib
Summary: Naruto/Bleach Crossover... Naruto and Hinata, finally lovers, are murdered by Aizen, but why? Why is Naruto saved by Kisuke and what happens when the two meet in Soul Society with no memories of each other? Chapter 4 - Zanpaktou...
1. Chapter 1 Where Death is the Beginning

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**Eternally Linked**

**A Naruto/Bleach Crossover**

**by Frib**

**Disclaimer - I do not own either the Bleach or Naruto mangas...**

**Chapter 1: Where death is the beginning…**

The sun had just started to set on a day that neither Naruto nor Hinata could ever forget. It had been almost 18 months since Hinata grew the courage to tell Naruto that she was in love with him. Every moment since Hinata had whispered those words and Naruto caught her fainting body had led up to this day. Today was the day that Naruto had proposed to Hinata; and, of course, she accepted.

Naruto had proposed at Hinata's favorite place: a hidden waterfall where the two had once shared a romantic night. The two were now walking hand in hand through the forest towards the village. Radiant smiles covered both their faces.

Naruto couldn't afford a wedding ring, so instead he gave Hinata a red jade ring with the words "Eternal Love" inscribed on the inside. Naruto wore a matching one on his own hand. Hinata loved the ring, but she loved what it signified so much more. The two were to be married, to be eternally linked. This was the best day of both of their lives.

As the two walked home a strange noise rang out behind them. It sounded like something being ripped apart from the inside. The two turned and instinctively prepared to defend themselves. There seemed to be a hole ripped in the air itself, and suddenly there was only black. It was more than that though; instead of being engulfed in blackness they seemed to be surrounded by nothingness. Neither of them could see, hear, or even smell anything.

"Byakugon!" Hinata screamed out, but she could not even hear her own voice. Still, her bloodline trait activated to a surprising view. It seemed that Naruto, herself, and another person wearing a strange set of clothes were surrounded by a small dome through which she couldn't see out. She had no time to wonder what the dome was because the other person was running at a dumb struck Naruto with a sword.

Hinata leapt at Naruto and pushed him out of the attacker's path. As Naruto's body fell, the swordsman swung through the air and right across Hinata's chest; neither the cut nor Hinata's scream could be heard in the dome. Hinata fell to the ground. Limp. Dead. The dome suddenly disappeared.

Naruto lay on the floor and shielded his eyes from the now blinding light shining from the trees. He could make out a man standing near him and a body on the floor. Naruto's eyes exploded, "HINATA!" He quickly made his way to her on his hands and knees as his scream echoed all around him. He picked up her body and held it to his own. He could feel blood still pouring out of her chest as tears leaked from his own eyes. "Hinata, NO!" He yelled as he embraced her dead body.

"Way of Binding number 1," Naruto could barely hear the voice through his own quiet sobs, "*Sai." A shock shot through Naruto's body. He tried to put Hinata's body down, but he couldn't. He couldn't even turn to face his attacker. His body was frozen in place. "That should hold him," an arrogant voice came from behind Naruto.

A man walked into view and stood right in front of Naruto. He had long brown hair and square glasses that he held as he bent down to look into Naruto's face. The man smiled at Naruto. His smile was laced with arrogance and superiority, but seemed to hold a trace of supreme happiness. "Thank you," he spoke softly to Naruto before lifting his head and walking out of view. "Gin." The man spoke out from behind Naruto.

A quiet, gleeful laugh sounded out from behind Naruto. He could hear the sound a sword being drawn and then everything was pain. The person who had laughed, this Gin, had slashed clear through both Naruto and Hinatas' bodies with one hard slash. Now free to move, Naruto's body fell limply onto Hinata's. "Is it now, Aizen?" The speaker's voice was high.

Naruto could sense all feeling leaving his body; he was dying. It took all his energy to turn his head towards the sound of the voice. Three men stood in front of the hole in the air that seemingly came from nowhere. One was a black man that Naruto recognized as the man that had attacked them in the dark nothingness. Standing in the middle of the other two was the one that had thanked him, the arrogant brunette with the glasses. The last man had to be Gin, his killer. Gin looked evil, smiling widely at Naruto's dying body while holding the blood stained sword out as if for Naruto to see.

The man in the middle spoke out, "It should be…" he was cut off however. An intense pain shot through Naruto and he let out an intense howl. This pain was worse than anything he had ever felt, worse than Gin's sword, worse than dying. It felt like something was clawing away at his insides, desperate to be free from his dying body. His body jerked and tossed as it started to glow red. The glow surrounding his body grew in both size and intensity until everything was red. "This is it." The brunette spoke, and then everything was gone. The red glow, the three attackers, the pain; it was all gone. Naruto was dead.

* * *

"Whoo! We were almost too late to save him."

"He looks funny. Is he really that strong?"

"Let's hope so."

There was no pain. Naruto could feel nothing as he slowly opened his eyes. He lay on his back looking up towards the ceiling of some strange room. "So this is death." He spoke out to the empty feeling surrounding him.

"You're only half right," said a cheery voice.

Naruto sat up quickly and looked around him. He was in a sitting room surrounded by a blonde man and two children sitting in a circle. "Are you all dead too?" He asked to no one in particular.

Apparently, even in death there is pain, and that pain shot through Naruto's head. "What kind of a stupid question is that?!" someone yelled at him. Naruto grabbed his hurt head and turned towards the voice. A young boy with red hair and a red oversized iron rod was being held back by a sweet little girl with red cheeks and pigtails. The boy seemed excessively upset for no real reason while the girl seemed to apologize with her eyes.

"Now, Jinta-kun," the cheer voice spoke out. Naruto turned to see who was speaking; it was a blonde man wearing a funny green outfit with a matching hat and sandals. He seemed like a push over, not someone who could take command of bratty children. "Could you and Ururu please wait outside so we can speak to our guest?" Naruto expected the children put up a fight, but the two simply walked out of the room.

"Now, back to what I was saying. You are only half right when you say you're dead." Naruto's eyes widened in confusion. He remembered dying, feeling death take him. The man with the green hat seemed to sense this and put his hands up in a defensive position as if to apologize. "Oh, I'm sorry. I would hate to insult you're intelligence. You are in fact: DEAD," He seemed to make a point to emphasize the word, "but you have not yet crossed into Soul Society. Do you understand?" The man wore a look like he had just explained something that Naruto should already have known.

Naruto was now even more confused. "Huh?" was all he managed to spit out.

"Kisuke, Naruto has no knowledge of Soul Society." The voice seemed to come out of no where. Naruto looked around for the voice. Who was speaking and how did they know his name?

"Who said that!?" Naruto commanded. His face contorted to look like he demanded to know.

A small black cat that had been sitting in the corner walked up to him and jumped on his shoulder. "I did," the cat spoke into his ear. Naruto shook the cat off in surprise. It landed on the green hat's shoulder. "Rude…" the black cat lifted its nose to Naruto before walking back to the corner it had once occupied.

The green hat, Kisuke, let out a weak laugh with a large smile, "Yes, yes. I'm sorry Naruto. Soul society is where souls are transported after they leave their human bodies. It is what some humans call heaven." Naruto's eyes moved from the cat to Kisuke and back, his face still full of confusion.

"But how…" Naruto didn't know what to ask first. "How do you know my name?" he decided to ask. His question, awkwardly, was directed at the talking black cat. When the cat seemed to refuse to answer Naruto looked toward Kisuke.

Again, Kisuke's hands flew up in an apologetic manner, "Now Naruto," his face held a huge ignorant smile, "that's a story for another time." Naruto didn't want to hear an excuse. He had no idea what was going on around him or why these strange people knew his name. As he looked into Kisuke's smiling face he grew angry; he wanted his question answered now. Just as Naruto was about to demand his question be answered Kisuke's face and body language changed drastically.

The stupid smile that portrayed idiocy had been replaced by a serious, stern look that commanded attention, and his apologetic waving hands had been lowered onto his knees as if ready to attack if needed. This person had seemed to change almost instantly before Naruto's eyes and Naruto's anger seemed to dissipate immediately.

"Naruto, please allow me to explain your situation and your choices." Even Kisuke's voice had changed; he now had a sober tone that bordered on danger. Naruto sat up, crossed his legs, and looked focused on Kisuke; he had Naruto's full attention. Kisuke's stern facial features lightened slightly but his voice remained the same. "Good, now you have to understand that both and Hinata have both been murdered and are now dead." He said this as if he were simply stating a fact; his words held no emotion. Naruto's eyes left Kisuke's and fell to the floor. That day had been so good; the best in his life. How could it turn out so bad? "Naruto," Kisuke continued on, "because you two were murdered your souls would most likely be very sorrowful and vengeful. It would be probable that one of two things would happen: either the vengefulness would cause your soul to become a hollow, or your sorrow would cause your soul to be lost in Soul Society with no memories of your prior life."

Naruto barely heard what Kisuke was saying, and understood even less. He did, however, discern that Hinata was obviously in trouble. "Can… can I save her?" Naruto tried to fight back tears forming in his eyes.

"Save her?" The words came from the corner of the room. The black cat was lying on its side facing away from Naruto, but its deep voice carried very clearly. "Hyuga has a pure soul. There is no way her soul would become a hollow." For some reason Naruto felt somewhat relieved, even though he had no idea what a hollow was. "You, on the other hand, are tainted by the monster you held inside of you."

Naruto's eyes opened wide and he looked from the cat to Kisuke. He grabbed his own stomach hard, "You know about that?" He was shocked. They obviously knew more about him then he thought.

Kisuke's voice still held the quality of stating facts, "Does your body feel lighter than before? Empty? That's because Aizen took it." The name Aizen rang out through the room.

Naruto squeezed his stomach. Was the fox really gone? Was he really free from worrying about losing control to it? "Aizen?" He asked out, still thinking of the demon fox.

"Yes, Aizen." His voice was solemn, less stern. "I believe he came across this story," Kisuke pulled out a book, a very old looking book, and opened it up. He carefully gave the book the Naruto, "Please read it." The story was hand written in short, small letters. It was somewhat hard to read due to decay but it was still legible. There seemed to be parts that were changed, erased, or rewritten.

Back from a time when elements still ruled the land came

a man from the land of fire. His life had been one of danger,

of adventure, of love. He brought to Soul Society a power

he had been given by another. This power, held inside of him,

helped him move through the ranks quickly. This man

became stronger than any in Soul Society; stronger than

even the captain-commander. It was this man, with his

power, that created the first King's Key.

Naruto read the story twice through. His face contorted in thought as he came to the end again. Land of Fire. Power held inside; given by another. "Is this story about…"

Kisuke cut him off. "Yes Naruto, I believe that this story is about you." Kisuke had sounded somewhat energetic but his tone again regained its soberness, "We believe that Aizen found this story and," he paused, "that is why he killed you and Hinata." There was a long silence.

"Hinata?" The name seemed to ring in Naruto's head. "She was killed because of me?" The thought was horrible. Kisuke took his eyes off of Naruto and looked towards the ground; his answer was silent but obvious. Hinata had been killed, and now she was lost and alone in a strange place with no memories of their time together, because of Naruto.

"How…" he paused, not because he was unclear of what he wanted but because he had not remembered the name of the location. "How can I get to this Soul Society place?" Naruto's voice had regained the demanding tone it had held earlier. Naruto needed to get back to Hinata no matter what.

His eyes shifted between the green-hatted Kisuke and the talking black cat. The cat rose and turned, not to look at Naruto but at Kisuke, and Kisuke's dim witted smile returned to his face. "Ah," Kisuke's hands shot up as if they had approached some realization, "So it is decided. You will go to Soul Society." Kisuke leapt to his feet and walked to the corner of the room. He reached into what Naruto thought was a pantry, but before he pulled anything out he turned back to Naruto. "Oh, and Naruto, this will take some time?"

"I don't care about how long it takes!" Naruto yelled out. The story that was seemingly about him didn't matter. The fact that Kisuke and a talking black cat knew who he was and about the fox demon didn't matter. The fact that he was now dead, but still moving around and talking didn't matter. The only thing in Naruto's head now was getting back to Hinata.

Kisuke moved at an intensely fast speed; Naruto didn't even see him move from the corner of the room. "Ok," Kisuke's gleeful smile shined right in front of Naruto, "I'll see you in five years then." Naruto had no time to react. There was no pain, but Naruto could feel Kisuke's palm connect with his forehead.

"Five... years..." Naruto couldn't tell if he was speaking or only thinking the words because he couldn't hear his own voice. He felt his body fall back slowly as the room became black. Then, again, there was nothing.


	2. Chapter 2 A New Awakening

**Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto or Bleach**

**Chapter 2: A New Awakening**

Naruto's eyelids were extremely heavy as he opened his eyes for the first time in years. He could feel some sort of hard ground under his back, and everything around him was pitch black except for a tiny speck of light that seemed very far away. Where was he? What had happened to him? Why did his body feel so empty inside? He asked himself these questions over and over for what seemed like forever as he stared at the small speck of light. No answer came to him.

As he lay there, he had no real desire to move. For some reason he felt content to simply remain on his back in this unknown place, but he knew that he would never be able to answer the questions running through his head if he did. Slowly, Naruto lifted his right arm and reached up towards the light. His arm felt heavy, as if it were weighed down by something. Strangely, the source of the light was much closer than he had originally thought; it was only a half arm's length away. Naruto pressed a finger to the light source and something gave way to the pressure he exerted; a little more light passed through what seemed to be a hole.

Naruto had noticed that what he seemed to push was a corner of something. The light was coming from something above him and shining through the corner of whatever was separating Naruto from the source. He lifted both hands and placed them just inside where the corner had gave way; he was going to push all the way through. His arms were so heavy that Naruto felt that this motion alone was enough to exert almost all of his strength. He knew that he had only one chance to make it out into the light. He counted quietly and took a deep breathe between each number, "One… Two… Three…" Naruto pushed up with all his might and the cover, a shallow wooden plank, was pushed off. A loud crash rang out around him. The bright light filled Naruto's eyes, but he no longer had the strength to lift his arms so he squinted his eyes.

"What was that?" Naruto could hear the question come from a good distance away. Who ever the question belonged to seemed to be running towards him and the source of the crash as Naruto could feel everything around him shaking. He must be a heavy man, Naruto thought. The shaking stopped. Whoever had spoke out before gave a laugh, it was a childish laugh but it seemed to come from an adult. Naruto became scared. He had no power to defend himself from whoever was there; he couldn't even move. What was he going to do? Naruto's eyes, still unaccustomed to the light, stared up towards the ceiling waiting for the person he knew was very close.

A small shadow formed next to Naruto, and he could hear footsteps that were growing louder. Naruto's heart beat fast against his chest. Above him flashed a green hat with blonde hair protruding from the sides of a goofy smiling face. "If I knew you'd be finished sooner, I'd have moved that table."

Naruto was forced to sit in the corner of a strange room. The blonde man with the goofy smile, after scaring Naruto half to death, had removed several other wooden planks and pulled him out of what seemed to be a hidden hole in the room's floor. He had placed Naruto in the corner because Naruto did not have the strength to hold himself in a sitting position. Naruto's fear had quickly faded as he saw more and more of the smiling blonde man. He did not know this man, but for some reason he believed inside that he could trust him. After sweeping up the remnants of the table and broken glass that had been the source the large crash, the blonde man walked up and stood in front of Naruto. "Now," the man's voice was light and lively, "can I ask you some questions?" The blonde man smiled down at him.

Naruto had wanted to ask the blonde man the questions still running through his head, but he knew that he was in no position to object to anything he was asked. He tried to nod, but couldn't. "Umm… yeah," was all he managed to spit out.

The blonde man smiled at Naruto's answer, "There is no point in asking if you remember your name Naruto, because it is universal fact that souls can never forget their own names." At this, Naruto's heavy eyebrows raised slightly. Naruto knew that he should be somewhat surprised that this man knew his name, but strangely, it didn't seem to matter to him. Maybe it was because his own name was all Naruto could remember about himself. Naruto didn't know what to feel about this, so he felt nothing. "So," the blonde man continued, "Do you remember your own death?"

Again, Naruto was hit with the sense that he should be shocked by this, but it was somewhat easy to accept. He was dead. Was that why he felt empty inside? Was that why he couldn't remember anything? He really was dead, but he was all right with it. "No," Naruto said again without feeling or bothering to try remembering.

This caused the blonde man to raise his head slightly; his eyes shone bright in the shadow of his hat. "Hmm," he grabbed his chin, "Do you remember Hinata, Naruto?" His voice seemed desperate.

Naruto knew that even if he tried he wouldn't remember. "No," he repeated emotionlessly. The name meant absolutely nothing to him.

At this, the blonde man's head dropped, "If you don't remember Hinata, that means you've lost your memory. The damn gigai must have been defective!" The blonde man's voice had grown angry and he irritably pulled out what looked like a walking stick; which he swung at Naruto. Naruto tried to block the attack, but his arms barely moved. The tip of the blonde man's weapon struck Naruto in the forehead, but there was no pain. Instead, Naruto's body shot up into a standing position. His body felt light, as if whatever was weighing it down had disappeared.

Naurto walked around the room smiling and waving his arms. He felt great. The feeling of extreme lightness was so incredible that he had forgotten all about the blonde man's attack. This feeling stayed with Naruto only briefly. As he finally circled the room he saw something that made him freeze and truly shocked him for the first time since he had awoke. On the floor, in the corner of the room, was him. Naruto could see himself, hunched over and dead looking. His jaw dropped as he stared in horror.

The blonde man did not seem to notice Naruto's expression. He kicked the body laying in the corner and mumbled something like, "I thought I worked out all the kinks." Naruto did not understand. He looked down at his own body and placed his hand on his chest. It was firm. He was real; he was the real him. That was somewhat a relieving thought.

The blonde guy clapped, scaring Naruto. He spun around and Naruto, now pale faced and confused, looked up into his goofy smile, "Well, that's ok. You'll find out soon enough. Now," he turned and started walking out of the room, "we have to get you ready for Soul Society and the Shinigami Academy." With this the blonde man left the room.

Naruto remained stuck in place. His head now swam with even more questions than when he awoke. He looked back down at his body laying the corner and gave a dry heave. It was scary looking at yourself as if you were dead. "Naruto?" He heard the blonde man's voice from far off. His body felt heavy again, but this was different. Should he follow the blonde man, or should he run the other way? He was confused, he was scared, and he had so many questions. Once again, he decided that if he wanted his questions answered he would have to move forward; he would follow the blonde man. He took one last disgusted look at his dead looking body and left the room.

Naruto was able to dodge, but just barely. Their attacks were getting faster now. Today was the fifth day since Naruto had awoken from his hidden space under Kisuke's floor. Every day since then, he had walked out into the pristine, dessert like training ground under the shop. The blue sky stretching for miles and the landscape littered with mountains, trees, large boulders, and even rivers. Every night, Naruto had left the destroyed and mutilated training ground battered and bloodied.

The first day, Kisuke had tried to explain to Naruto all about Soul Society and the Gotei 13. It took quite a while, but Naruto seemed to grasp the concepts. Soul Society was where souls went after their body died. It was where Naruto would be right now, lost and without memories had he not been rescued by Kisuke. Kisuke, however, failed to mention exactly why he had rescued Naruto, and only said that he would learn in time.

The Gotei 13 was something that Naruto seemed genuinely interested in. 13 squads, each with a captain, vice-captain, and lower members, that protected Soul Society and eliminated hollows and others that threatened both the living and dead. After hearing about this, Naruto immediately set a silent goal: to become a captain in the Gotei 13. To protect other people was something that seemed inherent in his mind. First, however, he would have to go into the Shinigami Academy. Kisuke had explained to Naruto that their training in the very near future would help him graduate faster than if he had joined completely inexperienced. That was only the beginning of the first day; then the training started.

The rest of that day was spent trying to simply dodge Kisuke's attacks, at which Naruto failed miserably. This was obviously because Naruto lacked any fighting experience. What he lacked in experience, however, he made up for with heart, determination, and a very strong chin. Even after being knocked down for what seemed like the hundredth time, head pounding and all, Naruto got back on his feet and tried to dodge again. By the end of the day, Naruto was a bruised and bloodied piece of meat.

The next morning brought a welcomed surprise. Naruto had lain down the previous night feeling sore and injured, but when he awoke he felt just fine. He sat up and looked down at his body. Most of the bruises and scratches he had endured were gone, and only the most intense ones could barely be seen. Somehow, during his sleep, his body had seemed to heal itself rapidly. Was this normal? Could all souls do this? Naruto decided he would ask Kisuke. He rose, eager to get an answer to his question, and ran down to the once again pristine training ground; Kisuke was waiting. Naruto yelled out, "Hey Kisuke…" Those were the last words spoken for hours.

Upon Naruto entering the training ground Kisuke leapt towards him, his walking stick aimed at his head. There apparently was no time for asking questions, only training; and Naruto, despite not getting his question answered, was quiet content with that. This second day, Naruto's innate physical abilities began to show themselves. He had managed to dodge or deflect most of Kisuke's attacks and at end of the day he had only been knocked down 68 times. This, to both Naruto and Kisuke, was a major step forward in his training. As Naruto improved during the day, so did Kisuke's speed and attack power. Naruto fought to keep up, but at the end of the second day he was again a bloody wreck and his mind was completely blank. He fell asleep almost instantly.

That night, Naruto's dreams were terrible. His mind's eye was completely filled with a bright red light that seemed to scream at him; a horrible howl that pierced his ears. It was like a wounded animal begging to be put out of its misery, but doing so was impossible. And then the howling stopped and there was only darkness. It wasn't darkness; his eyes were closed and there were tears falling from them. Something in his mind told him that he was now outside. He couldn't move his body; he didn't even want to. He was holding on to something but he didn't know what it was; it felt like a person. Then there was pain, and sadness, and anger.

Naruto's body shot up into a sitting position. His nightmare had caused him to break into a cold sweat and he was freezing. It was very dark so he thought it must still be very late at night, but he could hear two faint voices coming from the other room. He silently edged towards the wall. He recognized Kisuke's voice, but the other voice, a woman's, he didn't know.

"It seems he's forgotten everything."

"That's unfortunate."

"Do you think I should keep it from him?"

"I think so. Telling him now may stress him beyond his current capacity. Besides, he'll find out eventually."

"You know he forgot about 'her' too."

"Oh! That is very unfortunate. But I'm sure we can have something arranged."

"You know he still wears the ring?"

"Is that so? I know she still has hers as well. I guess some bonds even death can't break."

"I believe he holds one more bond from his mortal life. His wounds heal fast. Too fast. I think, NO! I know, that he still has some sort of connection to 'it'."

"Interesting. I'm sure that will come in handy."

Her? It? Naruto had no doubt that they were talking about him, but what did any of it have to do with him? And what ring were they talking about? If it was a ring, and he was wearing it, it would be on one of his fingers, right? Naruto looked down at his right hand and there it was: a dark red jade ring glowing from his ring finger. Why had he not noticed it until now? But he had noticed it, and he knew it. When he had pushed himself out of the secret room under Kisuke's shop he had seen it; when Kisuke had knocked him down for the first time he had glanced at it; and when he made his silent promise to become a captain of the Gotei 13 he had stared directly at it. He had never noticed it because it seemed more like a piece of his own body than an accessory. It had obviously meant something very important to him during his life, but what? He couldn't remember.

"Did you hear that?" The female voice rang out in his direction; Naruto's thoughts stopped instantly and he darted back to his bed. Eyes shut and pretending to sleep, Naruto heard the door slide open. "You know he's heard most, if not everything we said. Right, Kisuke?" The female's voice didn't seem angry, only informing.

"Ha. Yoruichi, I think you overestimate our Naruto."

"Kisuke! I think you underestimate him."

"Trust me, I don't."

Naruto could hear their voices from the open doorway, but after a short while they stopped. He had tried so hard to pretend he was asleep that actual sleep had crept up on him. The dream of the bright red light and the pain did not return. There was only peaceful slumber.

Naruto awoke the next day to another surprise. When he reached the training ground he was not instantly attacked. Instead, he was presented with a wooden stick. "This," Kisuke explained happily, "is your weapon." Naruto grabbed the weapon and looked examined it; the wooden stick looked like it would break in half with one good hit. That belief was quickly put to the test as Kisuke lifted his walking stick into the air and swung down hard at Naruto's head. Instinctively, Naruto raised the wooden stick to block the attack. The two weapons met with a force that dropped Naruto to his knees. "Now," Kisuke withdrew his sword and looked down at Naruto, "you learn to attack."

Although the training that day had been different, the end result had been the same. Naruto lay in bed, battered, bloodied, and exhausted. Next to his bed lay his weapon, the wooden stick, still fully intact. It had been used mostly to block Kisuke's attacks, as the few times Naruto did manage to swing in Kisuke's direction he missed terribly. Tomorrow would be a different day, Naruto told himself, and it would be.

The next few days of training progressed exactly as Kisuke had planned. Naruto's sword skill had gotten only slightly better, but his speed, agility, and endurance had increased greatly. More importantly, Kisuke had managed to significantly increase Naruto's spiritual power. Naruto, however, failed to notice this as the more his spiritual power rose, the more intensely Kisuke attacked.

"Today," Kisuke greeted Naruto one morning after less than a week, "will be your last day of training." He still wore his idiotic smile and spoke in a joyful tone. Naruto did not see this news as good at all; he had really learned to enjoy and welcome his training. The idea of getting stronger and improving his abilities seemed to resonate within his brain. Naruto was let down, but he still had one more day of training ahead of him; he leapt at Kisuke and swung as hard as he could. Kisuke watched Naruto's attack coming directly at him; the smile still etched on his face.

Just as Naruto's attack was about to connect he was thrown backwards on to his back. In shock, he looked up at Kisuke. His walking stick was still held down at his side. "Now, if I may continue," Kisuke said happily. "What I will teach you today will take some time to learn, but you will be able to practice on your own."

Naruto got to his feet. He was shocked and excited at the same time. He wanted to know how Kisuke had sent him flying with no effort at all, but even more, he wanted to know what he was going to learn. "What is it?" he asked excitedly.

"Close your eyes," Kisuke demanded. Naruto had not expected this, but he had learned to just accept the weird things Kisuke said. Eyes closed, Naruto could only hear Kisuke's voice. "Now, what do you feel, Naruto?" Naruto tried to think. The answer, he knew, could not be completely obvious. He could feel the sand firm under his feet, the wind blowing through his hair, and the heat from an unseen sun glaring down on him. These things could not be what Kisuke wanted to know and Naruto's face showed that feeling. "Naruto," Kisuke's voice changed to one of encouragement, "What do you feel inside?"

Naruto changed his mode of thinking, but inside, he really felt nothing. He had tried for days to understand why he felt this way inside, but he could not understand it. "Nothing." Naruto said dully. His voice bordered on anger.

Kisuke had known it was too much to hope Naruto would understand. "Naruto," Kisuke's voice was still encouraging, "can you sense the energy within your body?" From Naruto's confused face he could read his reply. "Hmm… Well, some spiritual being have a high level of spiritual power that can be released as reiatsu." Naruto's confused look hardened. Kisuke decided that it was easier to teach Naruto by showing him exactly what he meant.

As Naruto tried to piece together Kisuke's last sentence he felt something strange. It was as if the density of the air had increased; it was heavy and seemed to weigh down on his body. Naruto opened his eyes. To his amazement, Kisuke's body was surrounded by a green aura that seemed to be releasing itself into the air. The sight awed and terrified Naruto. Kisuke looked powerfully fearsome; even horrendous. It was a far cry from the idiocy that he usually portrayed, and that only scared Naruto more. How powerful was Kisuke, and what else could he be hiding about himself?

Just as fast as the air around Naruto had changed, it had returned. The terrified thoughts in his mind, however, remained. "That," Kisuke said, seemingly pleased with his show, "was reiatsu." Naruto couldn't help but be amazed. He wanted to learn how do it himself, and Kisuke seemed to understand that. "First, you have to harness the spiritual energy within your soul. You may not remember, but you had become very skilled at this during your lifetime, except you called it chakra." Naruto did not try to remember, he knew he wouldn't be able to. "Just try," Kisuke encouraged, "just because you don't remember doesn't mean your soul won't."

This struck something inside of Naruto. He, in his current memory, had not had any combat experience, but during his training he noticed himself dodging and attacking in ways that seemed natural and practiced. Maybe he would be able to do this, since he had apparently known how to during his life. So he tried. He closed his eyes and tried to feel for something inside of him; not feelings or emotions, but something else. As he searched inward for some unknown source of power, something else came into his thoughts. The bright red light once again filled his mind, then pain, and anger; a very strong anger.

Naruto's mind was racing, but his body seemed be being squeezed by the air around him. He opened his eyes and saw something even more amazing than Kisuke's earlier showing: the air around him was glowing a bright red; and it seemed to be compacting the air. Kisuke stood before him, his face was utterly terrified. Naruto had achieved what he had wanted, but now he wanted it to stop; and suddenly it did. The air returned to normal and the feelings of pain and anger were gone, but Kisuke's face remained shocked and body stood rigid.

"That… That…" Kisuke was stuttering and his eyes were focused somewhere above Naruto. "That was umm… powerful," he was finally able regain to his composure. "How about we try to tone it down a notch for right now?" His eyes were still looking up.

Naruto silently agreed; that feeling was extremely awkward and it felt very hard to control. It was strange, some thing foreign to him; and the look on Kisuke's face told Naruto that what he had seen was most likely dangerous. The next two days were spent trying to recreate a less spectacular showing using something other than the thoughts of his nightmares. That was very hard. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, Naruto couldn't get it right; nothing every came to him. Every time he seemed to get close he would fear the same thing would happen, and he held back just slightly.

Kisuke had known of Naruto's fear the entire day, and he knew that Naruto would never learn to release his spiritual energy if he wasn't fully concentrating. He watched Naruto fail time and time again, but never told him thing. Kisuke needed him to overcome his fear of the fox on his own. It had become apparent to him that Naruto and the fox, even though it was no longer inside of him, still had some sort of connection, and that connection was most likely the key to stopping Aizen. When Naruto failed to release more than a bit of reaitsu by the end of the day, however, Kisuke knew he had to do something.

When Naruto met Kisuke the next day he was filled with a mixture of eagerness and fear. He wanted to learn how to release his reaitsu so much, but what had happened yesterday when he had actually done it still haunted him. The first words that Kisuke spoke, however, killed both his eagerness and fear and filled him with a sense of urgency: "Naruto, tomorrow you leave to Soul Society." Naruto's face was sullen, Kisuke's remained smiling and joyous. Naruto had thought that their training would last longer be more detail oriented. After all, how were a few days jumping around and swinging a wooden stick going to help him graduate the Shinigami Academy and get into the Gotei 13?

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but Kisuke cut him off, "So, that means you have to learn how to release your reaitsu today. And," Kisuke lifted his walking stick, "today we commence your combat training." With that he leapt at Naruto, who was not prepared. Kisuke nailed him on the side of his head and he went flying into a giant boulder. This was not the start that either of them had expected.

Naruto began to get really aggravated after several hours. He thought it was impossible. Every time he tried to release his reaitsu he would think of the red suffocating light and pull back, and every time this happened he would get mauled by Kisuke. Kisuke too, seemed to be becoming irritated with Naruto's lack of improvement. This irritation came to fruition when Kisuke gave Naruto a moment to breathe and he noticed a slight hesitation in his eyes. Kisuke leapt at Naruto and swung his walking stick at his head, but he ducked, "DON'T!" He swung directly down on him but Naruto managed to block it, "HOLD!" Kisuke, blazingly fast, grabbed the back of Naruto head and pulled his face only several inches from his own, "BACK!" This was the first time Naruto could clearly see Kisuke's face. It was terrifying, demanding. Then Naruto was thrown back.

From his back Naruto looked up expecting another attack. Kisuke stood before him, his body glowing with the strong reaitsu; he looked very angry. "Naruto," his voice was not cheerful or joyous; it was monotone and grim. "You will not dodge my next attack," he paused to let the words sink in. This was something he knew he had to do; but he had faith. "Even if you try to block it, my sword will slice through your weapon and your body if you cannot release your reaitsu." He whipped his walking stick into the air and what seemed to be a sword sheath flew up, revealing a very sharp, very real sword.

Naruto was scared but he forced himself to get to his feet. Despite the stupid face Kisuke often wore, Naruto had yet to hear him speak anything untrue, and this new demeanor he wore proved that Naruto would die if he couldn't release his reaitsu. He had to do it now, but why couldn't he do it before? The dream! He had always been so afraid of red light and the pain and anger it brought with it that he always forced himself to stop before he could release his power. That had to stop now or he would die!

Kisuke leapt at Naruto; his weapon met Naruto's and, true to his own prediction, stopped dead. Naruto's eyes were closed shut and he still looked afraid, but he had managed to release a tiny bit of reaitsu. It was not like the glowing red show it had been before; it was nothing more then a mere fraction of that, but he had done it. He had managed to release his spiritual energy. He was happy, he was alive, he was lying on the floor unconscious. This was the end of his training.

Naruto awoke the next morning feeling awkward. Today was the day he would be leaving for Soul Society. He had not exactly liked or felt comfortable in Kisuke's place, but it was all he knew. What was this Soul Society place going to be like and how would he feel being surrounded by other dead souls? He had very little time to think about this as Kisuke was calling him from the training grounds below.

When Naruto arrived, Kisuke was standing next to a large square; it looked like a very large picture frame. His smiling face and joyous tone had returned, "Ahh Naruto! I have some things to tell you before you leave." Was this his good bye, Naruto thought. Is he just going to say some last words and be done with me? It seemed very selfish to Naruto, but Kisuke did not seem to notice. "Your name has already been registered with the Shinigami Academy, and this Senkaimon will transport you there." Naruto turned towards the giant frame. Apparently this thing was going to take him to Soul Society.

"Can I ask you a question, Kisuke?" He was still looking at the large frame and the words had escaped Naruto's mouth without him thinking. He turned back to Kisuke, who had now walked a little aways from him. He had wondered about this for some time now, but he was scared about the answer. Now that he had mentioned it, however, he had to ask.

"Ha!" Kisuke laughed, "Of course, Naruto. But," he raised a finger up towards Naruto, "I need you to remember this name. This person knows about your situation and will help you. The name is Kuchiki Rukia." The name resonated in the air and through Naruto's brain. Someone in this strange place already knew about him. "Now, your question Naruto?" Kisuke feigned interest as he opened the gate.

Naruto couldn't help but notice the picture frame behind him activate. It had transformed into an old sliding door and gave off a noisy humming sound. Naruto needed to know the answer to this before he left so he asked, "Kisuke, how strong are you?" There were so many things that he knew Kisuke was hiding but there had to be some reason. His strength, however, was something that Naruto did not think Kisuke had any reason to hide. So why was he doing so?

Kisuke laughed happily as the sliding door opened into pure whiteness. In a flash, his body appeared right before Naruto's and he whispered the answer into his ear. At the end of his answer, Kisuke planted his foot right into Naruto chest and launch Naruto through the open doors of the Senkaimon. Falling backwards, Naruto could see Kisuke waving at him at him; and he was gone.

"Kisuke! Do you think we should have sent him so early?" Yoruichi walked out from behind a boulder. Her black cat appearance abandoned.

Kisuke did not take his eyes off the now empty picture frame. "Naruto has plenty of time to hone his skills in Soul Society. The fox still has a little more than 5 years before it will be able to enter Hueco Mundo or Soul Society." The fake smile had left his face. "Besides, I believe that she is connected to this as well."

Even if Naruto wanted to, there was no way back. He was on his way to Soul Society, and the whole time he walked the strange road towards the new place Naruto could only think of one thing: Kisuke's answer to his question. Into his ear, Kisuke had whispered, "Not as strong as you can be."


	3. Chapter 3 Basics 5th Division

**Dislaimer - Don't own Naruto / Bleach... yeah...**

**Chapter 3 – Basics / 5th Division…**

After just a very short time, Naruto seemed to be coming to the end of the tunnel that led to Soul Society. Just ahead of him was a bright white light that he had to force himself to step through. As his body passed through the light, he entered a very poorly lit room with a hard floor that seemed to be empty. Before searching for a door, Naruto waited for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light.

"Are you Uzumaki Naruto?" The voice scared the wits out of Naruto. It was a hard, demanding voice, but it was not loud at all. After regaining his sense Naruto looked around for the person who asked the question, it had sounded like a female. As his eye sight became better accustomed to the light he could make out the outline of a tall, slender female near what seemed to be the only door out of the room.

Naruto didn't know what to think. Was she here to help him, or was she going to attack? "Yeah, I am." He tried not to sound scared as he braced himself for the worst.

"I have no idea why Yoruichi wanted you to come here, but…" her voice sounded disappointed and she didn't finish her sentence. Naruto remembered the name Yoruichi; it had been the name of the other voice he had heard talking with Kisuke. Who was that person? Furthermore, who was this person and what was their connection? The female in the corner did not give Naruto the chance to ask these questions as she swung the door open, "Go down the hall and out of the doors at the end. Don't tell anyone about Kisuke saving you or coming from the real world. And never," her voice started to rise sharply, "never tell anyone about this meeting!" She pushed through the door and the little bit of light from outside the dark room gave Naruto just a quick peek at her face.

Naruto remained in the room for a moment. Why did this woman not want anyone to know they had met? And why was he not supposed to say anything about Kisuke or what had happened to him? Naruto ran towards the now visible door; he was going to demand that this woman answer his questions. He swung the door open hard, "Hey! What the hell is…" Naruto's voice died. The long hallway ahead of him was completely empty. Where did she go?

The hallway branched off in several directions, but the only door Naruto could see was straight ahead. Not wanted to be lost in what had already proved itself to be a strange place he walked towards the door. He could hear loud voices from outside the hallway; there seemed to be a lot of people on the other side of the door. Naruto pressed the door open and walked out into a very crowded courtyard.

Naruto, not trying to stand out, headed directly for the center of the crowd. All around him were excited faces talking to each other in high voices. He caught bits of random conversations around him, "I've been waiting ever since… Just like Captain Hisagi… I hope I can get into the 11th division…" From these random bits he could piece together that he was at the Shinigami Academy. Even so, everything around him seemed chaotic. This chaos only increased when a large door on the side of the courtyard opened up.

Naruto didn't know what was going on but he was being moved by the people surrounding him. The crowd seemed to be parting, and when Naruto stopped moving he saw that a lane straight through the courtyard had been revealed. "The Captain's walk!" he heard an excited boy beside him say. The captain's walk? Were the captains of the Gotei 13 really going to walk right by them? Was he about to see the strongest fighters in Soul Society? Naruto was instantly excited, and his excitement only grew as the courtyard became deafly silent. Every mouth was shut and every eye was focused on the doors. Out of the doors came what Naruto thought could be the oldest man ever. He was leaning over a large, wooden cane and moving slowly. His white beard was so long it almost dragged on the floor. Naruto's excitement had faded; this old man's appearance was a severe disappointment. With every step he took, Naruto wondered how this old croak of a man could have been made a captain.

Following the old man out of the door came someone that Naruto recognized: it was the woman from the dark room. He knew it was her. The voice he had heard in that room matched her looks: angry, mean, cold. She was looking at no one. Naruto tried to catch her eye, but her eyes remained locked straight ahead. Naruto wanted to shout out to her, but he knew that that was probably the worst thing he could do. If she were a captain, it would mean that he could hardly just walk up to her and demand answers.

Naruto's head dropped in disappointment. With his eyes on the floor he felt something around and inside of his body. It was a strange feeling, but familiar. It was reaitsu, and it was strong and increasing rapidly. Naruto felt like his body was being squeezed, and he couldn't resist it. He didn't know how to stop the feeling, but he needed to do something. He wanted it to stop. He needed it to stop! The crowd around him gasped.

The feeling was gone, but how? Naruto looked up in shock. Standing before him was old man; he had stopped right in front of Naruto. "It was you," Naruto said in a whisper. The reaitsu was so intense, so strong, and it belonged to this old, frail looking man. The old man did not reply or look at Naruto as he continued his walk through the courtyard. Naruto noticed a "1" on his back; Kisuke had told Naruto about the Captain-Commander before he left. Naruto knew that this man, despite his looks, was definitely the strongest man in Soul Society. Again, he grew extremely excited. It didn't even bother him that the female captain walked by him without even a glance.

Following the female captain were a set of very different people. First came a very proud looking man with long black hair that was fitted through some sort of head piece. He also looked straight ahead and walked in a fluid motion. He wore a "6." Following him were a sickly looking man with pale, white hair and a flamboyant looking man with a straw hat. This second man wore the same uniform as the others, but wore a pink kimono over it. Naruto tried not to laugh. Following these two was what seemed to be a little kid with spiked white hair. Although the kid looked as if he wasn't even old enough to stay up late and was much shorter than most of the people in the crowd, he walked with confidence and the respect that being a Captain demanded.

Naruto was shocked by the two monsters that followed the kid-captain out of the doors. The first could only be described as an enormous, walking wolf that towered over everyone around him. At first, Naruto thought it was just a mask, but as the wolf walked past him Naruto could see his fir move in the wind. As Naruto stared gawk-eyed, along with many others, a second monster, taller than the first, walked out of the doors. This man seemed to be made of muscles, and many of them. He wore an eye patch over his right eye and his hair was styled into very long spikes with bells attached to the tips.

This Captain did not look forward as the others before him, but instead seemed to be searching for something. He looked side to side eagerly with a strange smile on his face; people shuddered when he looked at them. Naruto was scared, but he was too excited to feel it. His excitement peaked when the monster stopped directly in front of him. Naruto was now smiling; this Captain was obviously incredibly strong. The monster turned and looked down into Naruto's smiling face, he seemed to be studying it. Naruto's heart started to be rapidly as he looked into his eyes. The monster let out a loud, almost crazy laugh and turned away. "Finally!" he yelled out as he continued down the courtyard. Naruto watched the monster walk away from him.

He thought about how exciting it would be to fight someone that strong. As a dream of what their intense fight would be like ran through Naruto's head he barely noticed the next few Captains walk by. Through daydreaming, distorted eyes he saw a man with long crimson hair pulled back into a ponytail; a woman with a kind face and long braided hair; something that looked like a machine put together from different parts of a human; and a guy with a tattoo of a 69 on his cheek. Just as the last of them were making their way past him Naruto's dream ended; he had died. This only excited him more.

12 Captains had made their way past Naruto, so only one remained. As this last Captain finally walked through the doors and into the courtyard, Naruto's mouth fell open. Walking towards him was the most beautiful woman Naruto had ever laid his eyes on. She had pale skin and dark black hair with a little stray bang hanging across her forehead. Her eyes looked comforting and the smile that she showed to the crowd as she waved to people was sincere. As she approached Naruto, his heart had started to beat rapidly again, but now for a different reason. She was close to him, very close, and he wanted nothing more than to be one of those people that she waved at. Just as she crossed his path her head turned towards him, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging down. For that split second her eyes were directly locked with Naruto's and his body went numb. The Captain waved at him and gave a quick wink. Naruto fell back into someone behind him who, luckily, caught him and kept him on his feet. Without stopping, the beautiful Captain walked to the end of the courtyard and disappeared as the others had.

The large doors at the end of the courtyard started to close; the Captain's Walk was over. Instantly, the crowd was reduced to chaos. Everyone was loud, some cheering, others exclaiming about their favorite Captain. "Hitsugaya… Unohana… Soifon…" It was apparent that these 13 people were universally known across Soul Society. Naruto, however, knew none of their names.

After a while the crowd started to thin. Naruto noticed that people were leaving the courtyard in different directions. It was bad enough that Naruto knew absolutely nobody and was in a strange place, but now he realized that he had no idea what to do. Where was he to go? How was he supposed to learn in this academy? Not wanting to be stranded alone in the courtyard, Naruto took one of the exits before the crowd completely diminished.

He was back in one of the hallways that he had used to enter the courtyard. It was now full of people walking and talking. To Naruto relief, there was a person that was holding what seemed to be a huge roster. In front of this man was a line of students waiting to tell find their assignments; Naruto wasn't the only one who was lost. Naruto got in line, and when his time came he gave the man his name as the others before him had. The man flipped a few pages and said in a dull tone, "Dorm 3-B, Grounds 4." Naruto had no idea what this meant. He looked back at the man with the roster waiting for more. The man looked at Naruto, very annoyed by his lack of understanding. "You'll be sleeping in Dorm 3-B, and your lessons tomorrow's morning will be in Training Grounds 4!" His voice was angry now.

Naruto was slightly relieved to know where he would be sleeping and how his lessons would start, but there was still one problem: "Where are those places?" he asked.

The man mumbled something that Naruto could not hear and then pointed angrily down the hallway, "Dorm 3-B is that way! And!" he swung his finger right in front of Naruto's face and just a little past him, "Training Grounds 3 is northwest of the courtyard!" Naruto decided it was best to just get out of the line; he also decided not to say thank you to the angry man. He started walking down the hallway sure that he would eventually find his way; at least he hoped he would.

Naruto didn't sleep much that night, partly because he was nervous and partly because he didn't find his dorm for hours. Luckily, the people in his dorm were also in his lessons so he was able to get there on time. Training ground 4 resembled Kisuke's training ground, except it was a vast green land instead of a dessert. Naruto felt strangely comfortable on the grounds, despite the uniform that he had been supplied with: a white shirt and a red hakama. The only thing Naruto liked about the equipment he had been given was the wooden sword that was an exact copy of the one he had trained with in the real world.

Waiting for Naruto and his fellow students at Training Grounds 4 was their instructor and about 20 other students standing shoulder to shoulder. Naruto knew instantly that the instructor was a full-fledged shinigami by the full shihakusho he wore; he could also tell that the students waiting for them were not the same as him. Although those students were dressed the same as he was, they had a sense of achievement and supremacy in their eyes. They also had one other thing of extreme importance: a real kitana next to their fake wooden one.

"The Shinigami Academy is split into two major sections." The instructor started speaking as the last student entered the training grounds. "You hopefuls," he scanned the group of students with an unbelieving eye, "have shown a talent for spiritual energy and have thus been admitted into the first section: the basics. In the next few years you will learn how to raise and release your spiritual energy as well as attempt," he paused and gave a slight laugh," to become skilled in zanjutsu, or sword technique." He took a few steps forward and turned his back to Naruto and the younger students, "These students," he opened his arms to signify the people that had been waiting with him, "are from the advanced section. They have volunteered to help train you, so show them some respect and do what they say." With that, the instructor seemed to vanish.

The student that had previously stood next to the instructor sidestepped into the hole in the line that was left unoccupied. Naruto did not like him. He wore what Naruto thought was an arrogant, smug smile, but that wasn't it. He couldn't quite place his finger on it.

"That's Utaki!" He heard one of the students behind him say quietly to another. "He's led the basics training for a few years, and I heard that he singles out one student in every section to pick on. That student always ends up quitting and leaving the Academy!" The voice sounded scared, almost terrified. Naruto didn't like it. Who was this guy and what special privilege did he think he had to pick on those less talented than him? Naruto's eyebrows furrowed in anger; he could tell Utaki was scanning the crowd for his next victim.

His gaze fell on Naruto and their eyes seemed to lock; Naruto's full of anger and Utaki's full of smugness. Without taking his eyes off of Naruto, Utaki leaned in towards a large, heavyset male student and whispered something in his ear. The male student responded by looking directly at Naruto and nodding slightly; his face full of malice. The students closest to Naruto all took a small step backwards. Naruto knew that he had been singled out, but he like that it was him and no one else. He alone knew he could withstand whatever Utaki could throw at him. He had to get through this to get into the Gotei 13. He had to do this to have any of his questions answered. Naruto forced himself to look away from Utaki and his assistant. Something seemed to catch his eye.

There was a girl on the other side of Utaki and she too had her eyes locked on Naruto, but instead of malice her face held a sweet smile. She had dark blue hair that came down to her shoulders and she was just a little shorter than Naruto. The way her head kept moving struck Naruto him as awkward because she kept looking from him to the ground and back again as if she didn't want him to catch her. When she seemed to finally realize that Naruto had noticed her looking at him she stopped looking down and gave him a little wave with her pinky. Naruto did not know how to respond to her.

"In order for you students to get 'personalized' attention, "Utaki's voice rung out and Naruto's attention instantly switched from the girl to him, "we are going to pair up." Naruto was suddenly angry again, but now he was anxious for his singling out to begin. "Go!" Utaki commanded the advanced students with an outstretched finger. Utaki remained standing in place while the other advanced students started walking towards the beginners; both the blue haired girl and the heavyset boy headed straight for Naruto. Utaki's hand shot out and grabbed the hand of the blue haired girl holding her back; it gave the large boy the chance to get to Naruto first.

The large boy stood menacingly in front of Naruto as a disappointed blue haired girl walked to the student next to Naruto. Naruto could hear the other advanced students introduce themselves to their partners and even start explain how to hold the wooden sword. Naruto's partner did not speak. "I'm… um… Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto tried to break the silence as he stuck his hand out to shake. The large boy only looked down at Naruto's hand. After a while, Naruto let his empty hand drop down to his side. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the eyes of blue haired girl still on him. The heavy set boy moved his hand to his wooden sword and slowly pulled it out of his obi as he took several steps backwards. Naruto could sense that this slow movement was meant to scare him, but he thought it looked foolish. Wooden sword in hand, the large boy let out a loud yell, raised his sword, and ran at Naruto.

Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing: the large boy seemed to be moving towards him in slow motion. After days of simply trying to dodge Kisuke's attacks this sad, inefficient excuse for an attack seemed like nothing. Naruto waited for the large man to get to him and he watched as sword came down towards his head. With plenty of time to spare, Naruto sidestepped and the large boy's attack missed completely. Naruto heard the crowd around him give a loud gasp; all eyes were on him.

The large boy turned around and looked at Naruto with anger in his eyes. He looked from Naruto to Utaki, whose smile remained, and back. Again he let out a yell and charged at Naruto. Instead of simply dodging the attack this time, Naruto leapt up into the air and raised his sword high over his head. The heavy set boy's eyes bulged out as he looked up at Naruto falling down at him fast; his sword fell to his side. Naruto swung down and his sword connected with the middle of the boy's forehead. His opponent fell to his knees and then forward onto the floor; he was out cold. Naruto's eyes turned to Utaki, who started clapping softly.

Slowly and still clapping, Utaki made his way to his downed hitman. "Well, it looks like you'll need a new partner," Utaki spoke to Naruto as he stood over the body. The crowd of students started to step backwards until Naruto, Utaki, and the downed large boy were left alone in a large circle. Without looking away from Naruto, Utaki kicked the downed body, sending it rolling to the edge of the circle.

Both men stared at each other for a moment before pulling out their wooden swords. Circling each other in a tense showdown only minutes in the making, Naruto didn't know what to expect. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw the blue hair of the girl who had smiled at him. He couldn't stop himself from shooting her a quick glance; she looked scared.

The distraction was exactly what Utaki had been waiting for; he swung his wooden sword across at Naruto's body. Naruto was surprised, not at the attack but at the fact that Utaki was not much faster than the boy Naruto had already defeated. Naruto raised his sword to block, but the swords never met. Just as the two swords were about to connect Utaki spun around and swung in an arching motion at Naruto. This was an improvement over the last opponent, but it was still nothing to Naruto who stopped the attack with the bottom of his foot. He pressed down and pinned Utaki's sword to the ground.

Utaki's smile had disappeared, replaced by shock. Looking up into Naruto's now smiling face his shock turned to anger. With no chance of a defense, Naruto swung his training sword and connected with Utaki's left temple sending him to the ground.

Now full of rage Utaki pulled himself up quickly; the side of his head sporting a large red welt. This time Naruto did not wait for him to attack. He rushed at Utaki and swung his wooden sword up at him. Utaki raised his sword to block, but the power of Naruto's attack sent Utaki's sword out of his hands and into the air. Utaki watched his sword soar high and land somewhere in the crowd behind him. Turning to Naruto, Utaki's face was burning red. He reached for the hilt of his katana and pulled it from his obi.

"Utaki, don't!" A female voice rang out from the crowd. Naruto turned to see who speaking; it was the blue haired girl.

"Shut up, Soki!" Utaki yelled back. "No one makes of fool out of me!" Utaki stood at a standstill with his very real sword in his hand. He was panting heavily and glaring at Naruto.

Then came a strange feeling that Naruto had felt before: it was reaitsu. This reaitsu, however, felt nothing like the times Naruto had experienced it before. This reaitsu was weak, very weak; and it was coming from Utaki. Naruto couldn't help but give a little laugh; that was a mistake. Utaki's face furrowed and he gave a growl.

Utaki lunged at Naruto; he was much faster than before. Unprepared, Naruto only barely dodged it by leaping into the air. Utaki jumped up at Naruto who, not knowing how to control himself in midair, was left vulnerable. Utaki slashed across Naruto's stomach; Naruto tried to block but his wooden sword was sliced in half. Naruto landed on one knee and his on his stomach; there was a large, bleeding gash across his gut. Utaki wasted no time and lunged at Naruto again. It was all Naruto could do to leap to his left and dodge the attack. Naruto was forced to continually dodge the onslaught of attacks that Utaki issued. With Naruto bleeding profusely now, every attack was getting closer and closer to connecting; he had to do something quickly. He knew exactly what he had to do, if only he could.

Despite the pain emanating from his wound Naruto leapt back to give himself distance from Utaki. He landed near the edge of the circle, and, not wanting to show any fear, stood straight up despite the pain eminating from his stomach. Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to concentrate. He could hear Utaki's footsteps coming at him quickly. He had to do it now; he had to release his reaitsu.

Naruto could feel it. He could feel the sensation of his spiritual energy building deep inside his body. Forced to recall the last time he had released his reaitsu, he tried to remember what Kisuke had taught him: Naruto had to forget fear, lose his anger, and disregard all pain. With a jolt, and a gasp from the crowd, Naruto could feel his reaitsu being released. It was strong, but he could control it. The only problem was he was still weaponless.

Utaki's sword tip was only inches from Naruto's chest, but Naruto's increased speed allowed him to dodge easily. Utaki was stunned as Naruto's body disappeared right before his eyes and reappeared, for a split second, in front of the blue haired girl. Looking up into her face, Naruto smiled and winked before disappearing again. When Naruto appeared again, he held her wooden sword in his right hand.

Naruto looked into Utaki's wide eyes; in an instant they went from shocked to loathing. Utaki drew his sword back and darted towards Naruto. "You son of a bitch!" Utaki shouted as he swung his katana down at Naruto. Naruto watched Utaki's sword come closer and closer to his face with a smile. In a flash, Naruto swung up and the two weapons connected; his wooden sword and Utaki's katana. The clash of the weapons rang out, and the force sent Utaki flying back into the edge of the circle.

Utaki immediately picked himself up off the floor and looked around at the circle of people; his face wore an expression of utter terror. All the students looking back at him wore similar expressions of shock. There had never been an academy student with such reaitsu. He turned his gaze to Naruto and gave an angry shudder. Without trying to hide the expression on his face, Utaki raised his sword rushed at Naruto again. He was much slower, less confident; he was defeated.

As Utaki seemed to inch closer and closer, Naruto felt less elated in his victory. Utaki's smug smile and arrogant eyes had disappeared. He now looked tired, scared, beaten. Naruto felt sad for him. Despite the feeling of superiority he seemed to carry, Utaki had pride; so much pride that even though he knew he was defeated, he would never admit it. Utaki would never stop fighting. Naruto knew that he had to end this fight now, for both their sakes. Naruto raised his sword and both fighters swung down at the same moment. The crash of the two weapons never occurred; only a gasp from the crowd broke the silence.

Naruto could feel something around his wrist. It was strong enough to stop his arm movement in mid-swing. Looking past the two swords only inches from each other, Naruto could see Utaki's now fear filled eyes were directed, not at him, but off to his side. Naruto turned to see who or what Utaki was looking at.

Standing beside the two battling warriors and holding each of their attacking wrists was a tall, pale skinned woman with long, olive colored hair and large white eyes. She wore a black kimono, black hakama, and, unlike the instructor, a wooden plate on her arm that read "5th Division." Naruto stared at her, forgetting the battle he was consumed in. He knew her; he knew her from somewhere in his past. He knew it, but he couldn't remember. "Vice Captain Hyuga," Utaki's voice was shaky.

"Is this why you've trained for years, Utaki?" Her face looked calm and she spoke in a plain tone, but something about her eyes showed an intensity that scared Naruto. "You're role here is to help these young ones, not intimidate them." She released the two boys' wrists; Naruto's arm fell heavily to his side, but Utaki's seemed to hang in the air for a moment. Utaki lowered his head and mumbled something that sounded like an apology.

"Pathetic." Hyuga's tone changed only slightly, but enough to sound very harsh. "Not only do you lack the skills to graduate the academy," Utaki's eyes shot up and into Hyuga's face, "but you also lack the pride to speak the truth." Utaki looked as if she had just stabbed him in his stomach.

With no sympathy in her face, Hyuga turned her gaze to Naruto. "Come with me, Uzumaki, Naruto." With those last words she turned her back to both Naruto and Utaki and started walking. The crowd, all eyes on the vice-captain, parted to let her through, then turned their stunned gazes to Naruto.

Naruto eyes moved from Hyuga's retreating back, to the crowd, and lastly to Utaki. Utaki looked devastated. Slowly, Utaki lifted his face to meet Naruto's, "Uzumaki… Naruto…" He whispered the words, but even very low his voice sounded almost hysterical. Now, instead of the dejected face he wore in front of the vice-captain, he wore a very strange smile. Naruto could not stand to look at Utaki anymore and rushed after Hyuga. Utaki watched him until he disappeared.

Quietly, Naruto followed Vice-Captain Hyuga over a hilly landscape. Just by the way she walked Naruto could feel that she had no desire to converse with him. After they had left the class far behind, Hyuga broke the silence, "My captain wants a word with you. You will show her the utmost respect, or I will run you through." Something told Naruto that the Vice-Captain was not joking with him. Not needing a response she continued, "My captain believes there is something," she seemed to have to catch her breathe before she spoke, "'special' about you. Having seen your fighting abilities, I believe she may have been too quick to deem you such." Naruto wanted to respond. He wanted to tell this condescending vice-captain that he thought he had done pretty well considering his lack of experience, but he decided to keep quiet. He didn't know how short her temper was, but he did know that she could defeat him easily.

As they came down another hill a figure came into view in the near distance. Naruto's eyes grew large. He knew this person too, but unlike Hyuga, he had remembered where he saw this person before. Getting closer with every step was the beautiful Captain that had winked at Naruto during the Captain's Walk. She must be Hyuga's Captain, Naruto thought as he noticed the special white haori that signified Captain status. Finally standing before the beautiful Captain, Hyuga introduced her, "Uzumaki Naruto, this is Captain Kuchiki; Captain of the 5th Division."

"Thank you, Hinata. Hello, Naruto." The Captain's voice was sweet and soft. From those very words alone Naruto sensed that she was almost an opposite of her cruel Vice-Captain. Getting past the initial shock of meeting and speaking to the Captain, Naruto had the feeling that he had heard the names Hinata and Kuchiki before. As Naruto wracked his brain to remember where he had heard the names, the Captain spoke out, "Kisuke has told me all about you."

That was where he had heard the name Kuchiki! The beautiful Captain before him was his contact; this was Kuchiki Rukia. The realization made Naruto completely forget about the other name.

"Kisuke has told me that your reaitsu and zanjutsu are already at a very high level," Captain Kuchiki spoke; Naruto heard Hyuga give a quiet 'tsk.' "Because of that, I can have you moved directly to the advanced section of the Shinigami Academy. Now, because of your lack of knowledge in kidou and shunpo I will have my Vice-Captain help you in secret." Naruto looked to Hyuga, who did not seem too excited about having to work with him. "You," the Captain pointed to Naruto, regaining his attention, "need to strive to excel in all aspects of training so you can get into the Gotei 13. After all, we are on a deadline."

Naruto had no idea what this meant, but he knew that now he had another reason to get into the Gotei 13: to be closer to Captain Kuchiki. Naruto gave her a confident nod and was rewarded with a cute smile from the Captain. Of course he would work his hardest.

Their meeting was over. Both Captain Kuchiki and Vice-Captain Hyuga turned and started to walk away when the Captain froze. Her eyes were locked down on Naruto's hand, "Hinata," she put her hand on her Vice-Captain's shoulder; Hyuga begrudgingly turned to look at Naruto. "Isn't that a stunning red jade ring?" All three sets of eyes looked down at the ring on Naruto's right hand.

Kuchiki's lips formed a sly smile while Hyuga's white eyes opened wide; Naruto noticed neither. Naruto looked up at the two females, his face was red, "Oh yeah, I don't really know what it means, but I never take it off." Kuchiki gave a little laugh, but Hyuga remained silent. Naruto watched with curiosity as Hyuga's left hand shot up to the middle of her chest. "Yeah, there's something um…," Naruto paused, something about the way Hyuga was staring at his ring seemed awkward, "… um. Something special about it."

Naruto's eyes watched Hyuga's for a moment. Her eyes seemed fixed on Naruto's ring, but slowly they moved up to his face. The way she looked at him, her eyes seemed to want something from him; an answer maybe. Naruto was puzzled. Suddenly, Hyuga's hand dropped to her side and her eyes regained their uncaring quality. She turned away and started walking again.

"Yes," Kuchiki's voice seemed to ring out. Naruto had been watching Hyuga so intently that he had seemed to forget about Kuchiki; she seemed to notice that as well. "Yes Naruto, that ring is very special." With that, Captain Kuchiki turned and walked away. Naruto remained standing in place. Again, he had no idea what she was talking about.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the chapter...

review if you want... or not...

Chapter 4 out soon...


	4. Chapter 4 Zanpaktou

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach...**

**Chapter 4 – Zanpaktou**

"Disintegrate…"

"You black dog of… of…"

_Remember! Remember!_

"of Ron… Ronadonini!"

"Look upon yourself in horror!"

"And then claw out your own neck!"

"Bakudo Number 9! Geki!"

The incantation had worked. Naruto's target was now surrounded by a red light and was completely paralyzed, or so Naruto thought. Soki, her blue hair contrasting the surrounding red light, seemed to move in slow motion within the sphere. For the most part she was helpless, but she wasn't completely paralyzed. Finally managing to free herself she smiled at Naruto, "That was really good Naruto, but if you're gonna say the incantation you have to say it right."

Naruto was disappointed; he had thought that he had finally managed to remember the full incantation. Soki, having spent enough time with Naruto in the past few months, knew exactly what was going through Naruto's head, "Relax Naruto. You were so close. It's 'Rondonini' not 'Rona-donini,' and 'claw out your own throat' not 'neck'." She tried to console him by patting his shoulder.

"Again!" Naruto spat back at Soki as he pushed her hand away. Naruto and Sokis' minds had very different thoughts at that moment.

Naruto's head was filled with fear. Vice-Captain Hyuga had given him until tonight to get the incantation down for Bakudo number 9. For the past 3 months, Hyuga had been working with Naruto in secret; mostly in the privacy of night. Despite the progress that Naruto had made, she never seemed to be satisfied. In fact, the only thing that did come of his progress was an increase in Hyuga's cruel nature. That coincided with a rise in Naruto's dislike and fear of her.

Soki's head was filled with much different thoughts. Ever since seeing Naruto in his very first basics class she was intrigued by him. At first, she was mainly attracted by his good looks: his spiky blonde hair, his muscular while not oversized body type, and his cute boyish face. After purposely befriending him in the advanced class, the two struck up an intense friendship, and for the past 3 months had been almost inseparable in and out of class. While many people found Naruto somewhat conceited and annoying due to his natural talent and desire to better himself, the same two qualities only made Soki like him more. There was something that only Soki, having gotten so close to Naruto, could see in him. It was something that she had never seen in anyone else. Her smile beamed at Naruto's determined face.

After several attempts, Naruto finally managed to memorize the incantation and render Soki fully paralyzed. "That was awesome!" Soki yelled out as she ran, now released from her bonds, straight at Naruto. Leaping, she wrapped her arms around Naruto; Naruto returned the congratulatory embrace without hesitation. This was nothing new to Naruto. Soki was his best friend, his confidant, and the only real connection he had in Soul Society. He loved her; just not the same way that she was now beginning to love him.

"Wow that was awesome, Naruto!" Naruto and Soki, still in a joyful embrace, released each other and turned to see a small boy staring at them in amazement.

"Oh. Thanks Saruchi," Naruto looked down at the short boy with long black hair. Saruchi was the only other person that Naruto could call a friend, although he wasn't nearly as close to him as he was to Soki. Coming from a noble family there was a lot expected from Saruchi, but due to a lack of skill and self-esteem he had never shown any real promise. While pseudo-respected throughout the Shinigami Academy, many tended to avoid him; Naruto and Soki were the only two that really accepted him. Soki, due to her good looks and extreme popularity, was considered foolish by many for associating herself with Naruto and Saruchi.

"We're about go work on our zanjutsu. Do you want to come with us, Saruchi?" Soki asked with a slight grimace. She had felt somewhat obligated to ask. Saruchi's face lit up; he loved to spend time with Naruto and Soki. It wasn't that Soki didn't like Saruchi; she just didn't like having to share her time with Naruto. Because Naruto didn't know about her feelings for him, however, Soki knew that including Saruchi was an easy way to hide it.

Saruchi nodded excitedly and the three turned together to walk towards Training Ground #7. Walking and talking elatedly, Saruchi failed to see what the other two had noticed. Naruto and Soki stopped walking instantly. "Saruchi," Naruto's voice was low but serious. Saruchi stopped talking and looked back at Naruto. Following his eyes, Saruchi looked up to see a Hell Butterfly flying towards them.

The Hell Butterfly slowly made its way to their position. All three gasped as it hovered directly in front of Naruto. Naruto looked at both his friends in turn before raising his hand and allowing the Hell Butterfly to perch on his fingertip. He had never felt anything like it; the Butterfly was weightless, but the loud booming voice that only he could hear echoed in his head, "Uzumaki Naruto, come directly to the chamber of the Captain Commander."

Soki and Saruchi could only wait to see Naruto's reaction to the Hell Butterfly's silent message. Naruto's eyebrows shot up. "What did it say Naruto?" Soki asked apprehensively as the butterfly left Naruto's finger but remained hovering in front of him.

"But…" Naruto was still amazed by what he had heard, "But I don't know what the Captain-Commander's chamber is." Although Naruto was talking more to the butterfly than the other two, both Soki and Saruchi's' jaws dropped. Not even Naruto could fathom why the Captain-Commander would want to see him.

The Hell Butterfly turned on the spot, as if waiting for Naruto. At that point, Naruto knew exactly how to get to the Captain-Commander's chamber: the Hell Butterfly would lead him. Seemingly sensing Naruto's understanding, the butterfly started off towards the north at a much quicker pace than it had arrived. Naruto took off after the retreating butterfly, "Sorry guys… I'll see you later…,' he said over his shoulder. Soki and Saruchi stared awkwardly at each other.

The Hell Butterfly led Naruto away from the Shinigami Academy and down many open corridors that he had never been through before. He didn't pass many people, but the few shinigami that he did meet stared at him as he went by. Finally, Naruto emerged from his last corridor and was left in awe; the Hell Butterfly seemed to understand and paused momentarily. Before his eyes was a huge wooden door with a large "1st Division" printed in the middle. Behind this door was the 1st Division grounds and the chambers of the Captain-Commander. The Hell Butterfly, having let Naruto bask in his own awe, flew towards the large wooden doors; they started to open slowly.

Naruto watched as the large wooden doors creaked open in shock; he didn't even notice the Hell Butterfly, job complete, return from where it had come. As the doors finally opened completely, a grey haired Shinigami stepped out from the side and spoke in an official tone, "Uzumaki Naruto, follow me please." The older man, who was dressed more formal than any other Shinigami Naruto had seen before, turned and started walking through the courtyard that the wooden doors had hid. Naruto was led through much of the 1st division territory but did not have time to take much of it in as the Shinigami he was following was moving fast. Finally, the two reached a small door with a weird shape on the printed on it. The formal shinigami opened the door and motioned Naruto to enter.

Cautiously, Naruto entered the room, followed by the grey haired shinigami. Naruto had known what to expect when he entered the room, but actually seeing the Captain-Commander standing before him was unbelievable. His eyes closed, it wasn't completely apparent if the Captain-Commander was looking at him or simply sleeping; but something told Naruto that this old man was examining him closely.

"Uzumaki…" the commander spoke out. His voice wasn't loud but it sent shivers down Naruto back; he did not know how to respond. The commander turned to what Naruto could only think was his Vice-Captain and nodded. The grey haired shinigami that had led him to the room returned the nod and left the room leaving Naruto alone with the most powerful Shinigami in Soul Society. That idea did not help Naruto stop the shivers.

"Do you know, Uzumaki…" Naruto noticed that the commander's eyes opened slightly. His pupils were aimed not at Naruto but off to his left, "that only one other person has progressed as quickly as you have in this academy?" Naruto was amazed that the commander was talking about something as casual as his progression. He wanted to reply 'no,' that he had no idea that he was progressing that quickly or that he knew of anyone else who had done so. Something told him that the Captain-Commander knew his answer already. "That is…" the commander closed his eyes again, "… unsettling." Naruto did not understand.

The Captain-Commander did not elaborate further on the matter. "I understand that you have not yet attained your zanpaktou." Naruto's self-esteem took a huge hit when he heard the words. While it was true that Naruto was progressing at a rapid pace, he had still been unable to communicate with his zanpaktou. Most people in the advanced class of the academy who had been there over several years had managed to use their zanpaktou, even in their shika state. Soki was one of those few people, but despite Naruto's attempts for hints and clues nothing had helped. She told him that it was something that had to come from within your soul. Naruto shook his head dejectedly.

Naruto was alarmed to hear the Captain-Commander give a little laugh. "Uzumaki, I believe that there is a reason for that." This startled Naruto more than the laugh. Did he mean that there was a specific reason that Naruto couldn't hear his zanpaktou calling out to him? Seeing Naruto's shocked face made the Captain-Commander give another little laugh as he raised his walking staff into the air only slightly. Slamming the staff down into the ground, a small hidden door opened behind his desk. Turning around and walking through the door the Commander call out, "Follow me, Uzumaki." Naruto hesitated, but followed the old man through the door and into a dark room.

As Naruto entered the very poorly lit room it was obvious that the room had not been used in a very long time. Standing only a few steps into the room was the Captain-Commander. Naruto walked forward and stood next to him. Everything was silent for a long while until the shaking started. There was a box, small and non descript except for the fact that it was floating in mid air, that had started to shake violently. It was like there was something inside the box that wanted desperately to escape.

"Ever since Kisuke sent you to Soul Society, this box has been shaking." Naruto's eyes were focused on the shaking box, but his mind wondered how the Commander knew about Kisuke. "It is of no consequence, Uzumaki." He seemed to know what Naruto was thinking. "What is bothersome is my theory of why this box is shaking." Naruto waited for him to elaborate, but he said nothing as the sound of the shaking intensified.

Standing silently next to the Captain-Commander, Naruto's head seemed to race with questions. These questions disappeared instantly, only to be taken over by a single thought as the commander lifted his walking staff into the air. He touched the tip of his staff to the shaking box and the box turned to ash that fell to the floor. Where the box had been floating was now occupied by a small, orange-red glowing orb of what Naruto could only think was light.

"Uzumaki," the Captain-Commander spoke, "Zanpaktous are linked to the souls of Shinigami. The zanpaktous themselves choose which, if any, soul to call out to, and when that soul is extinguished the zanpaktou returns to the void of nothingness to await another it deems worthy." There was a long pause as the commander opened his eyes slightly; they were filled with the light from the glowing orb. "Some zanpaktous, however, remain in our world even after its linked soul is gone. There is no known reason for such occurrences. Some zanpaktous are simply… eternal." As the Captain-Commander paused to let his words sink in, the dark room was void of all noise.

Naruto's eyes stared at the orb of light in wonder. There was something about this light; something familiar; something terrifying. Suddenly, right before Naruto's eyes, something seemed to be staring back at Naruto from inside the orb. It was face; not human face but some sort of angry animal with menacing black eyes and glaring fangs. Naruto thought he had seen the face before.

"Uzumaki, please release your reaitsu." It wasn't a question but a command. Naruto, lost in thought, obeyed unconsciously. As Naruto's reaitsu increased, something strange started occurring within the orb. The face that Naruto had seen had protruded from the orb as if trying, but failing, to escape the limits of the light. A strange growl started emanating from somewhere within the orb. This growl became louder and louder before turning into a howl. The howl rang through the room, shaking Naruto to the core. Naruto was horrified, but the commander simply released a confirming "hmmm."

"Uzumaki," The Captain-Commander's voice was still low but seemed to pierce through the orb's howling, "this zanpaktou has been dormant since before my time. The morning before the Captain's walk, it started to release a spiritual pressure that I had never encountered." Naruto remembered the day of the Captain's walk. "I felt that same pressure when I passed you in the courtyard." That, Naruto thought, must have been why the Captain-Commander stopped right in front of him. He had felt the same thing in Naruto that he had felt from this orb of light? This orb of light that was actually a zanpaktou!? "Touch the light, Uzumaki," the commander ordered.

Naruto was terrified. The last thing he wanted to do was touch the orb, but he knew he had to. He and the orb shared something that he didn't understand, and he had to know what it was. In a movement that happened before his mind could stop him, Naruto reached out and wrapped his hand around the orb.

"_Master_?" The voice echoed through Naruto's mind; or was it his mind? Where was he? He knew he wasn't in the same room anymore; he couldn't feel the commander's reaitsu anywhere.

"_No! You are not my master…_" The angry voice rang out through the darkness that now enveloped him. It was much darker than the room he was just standing in, and Naruto couldn't tell if his eyes were opened or closed. Suddenly, Naruto's eyes, apparently open, were filled with an intense light. The light was the same color as the orb. Instead of a small ball of light, however, Naruto's eyes were completely immersed in orange-red light. He raised his hand to shield his eyes.

Naruto waited, but his eyes never became acclimated to the light. Try as he might, he couldn't look anywhere near the source of the new light. The only thing that seemed to come into his view was a dark figure far off in the distance. "_You… are my master…_"

The voice was coming from the direction of the distorted figure. "_Has it been that long?_" The voice seemed to be asking himself the question instead of asking Naruto.

"Who are you?!" Naruto yelled out from behind his hands.

"_That voice!_" The tone of the undistinguishable figure seemed shocked, "_It's brighter than I remember! Less composed; more anxious. You are not the same as before…_" the voice now seemed disappointed, "_But, there is no doubt that you are my master…"_ The voice was now loud; Naruto knew that the figure was close to him, but he still couldn't see who was talking to him. Who was this? Why was he calling Naruto 'master?'

Naruto could feel something on the top of his hands. Some force was trying to pull his hands down and expose his eyes to the blinding light; and it was succeeding. There was no resisting the force, and Naruto hands were soon pulled down below his face; the light hurt his closed eyes.

"_Open your eyes… Uzumaki Naruto…"_ It was the same voice as before. Naruto knew that whoever was speaking had forced his hands down. Despite the pain Naruto knew would pierce his eyes if they were exposed to the orange-red light, something told him that he should obey the voice. Slowly, Naruto opened his eyes.

The light was still blinding, but Naruto tried his hardest to fight through his mind's desire to keep his eyes closed. Naruto finally got to a point where his eyes could open no further; his eyes were small slits, but he could make out a figure standing right in front of him blocking some of the light. The figure, to Naruto's dismay, was still fully distorted.

Naruto knew there must be a reason why the figure was still distorted. The two were standing so close that, even through Naruto's slits of eyesight, he should be able to see the figure clearly from that distance. "_It has been a long time master…" _Naruto couldn't see the figure's mouth moving.

"Who are you!?" Naruto repeated as he closed his eyes. He knew that straining himself to keep his eyes opened was no use.

The figure seemed to give a mocking laugh, "_Have you forgotten your faithful servant in these many years? My name, master, is…" _There was only silence.

Naruto felt the heat of the intense light disappear suddenly. Shooting his eyes open, Naruto instantly knew that he had returned to the hidden room in the Captain-Commander's chambers. Letting his eyes adjust to the sudden change in light and allowing himself to rethink what had just occurred, Naruto was too inattentive to realize the item in his hand.

Remembering that the Captain-Commander must still be beside him, Naruto let his head turn. Had Naruto not just went through an amazing experience himself he would have thought that what he was seeing was astounding: the Captain-Commanders eyes were almost completely open in shock. His eyes, his old grey eyes, were focused on Naruto's outstretched hand. As Naruto turned his head to follow the commander's eyes, his eyes too shot up in shock. In his hands, glowing a faint orange-red, was what Naruto knew was his zanpaktou.

Standing alone in the darkness of training ground number 8, Naruto couldn't take his eyes off of the zanpaktou held out in front of him. The last few hours had been only a blur; he only vaguely remembered anything since leaving the 1st division territory. His mind seemed to unconsciously guide him to the training ground to await Vice Captain Hyuga. He didn't even notice her approach.

"Have you memorized the incantation, yet?" The Vice Captain's voice rang cold in Naruto's ears; he had become almost used to the tone. Without lowering his outstretched arm, Naruto's head turned to Hyuga. The sound of her voice seemed to break him from his long daze. It didn't, however, break the astounded mood he had been in since receiving his zanpaktou. For the past few days, Naruto's main focus had been memorizing the incantation, but now that was just an afterthought. The most important thought in his mind now was to understand what was in his hand and how to use it.

Naruto's eyes locked onto Hyuga's, and her harsh eyes were on his as she waited for an answer. For one quick second, however, the Vice-Captain seemed to let her curiosity overcome her and her eyes fell to Naruto's zanpaktou. In that second, Naruto saw her eyes grow wide and light up; they seemed to become almost white. He followed her eyes and noticed that they were not on the sword itself, but instead on the orange thread that fell from the end of the hilt. The thread seemed to be coiled sloppily around the black hilt many, many times but still managed to hang down several inches; Naruto had not noticed it until that moment. When his eyes returned to Hyuga, her eyes had already returned to their usual state.

"Maybe I expected too much from you," Hyuga stated in her usual condescending tone, "am I moving too fast for you?" Naruto cringed at the way she said the words. So condescending. So cruel. Her face remained as emotionless as usual, but Naruto sensed that somewhere inside she was smiling, pleased with herself. "Maybe I…" her voice suddenly died before she could spit out another insult. She must have felt that they were no longer alone.

"Now now, Hinata," the words rang out heavenly in Naruto's ears, "those were not the same words you said to me earlier." Slowly, gracefully, Captain Kuchiki walked into view from somewhere behind her Vice Captain. She walked towards Naruto with a sweet smile on her face and stopped just about halfway between the he and Hyuga. She looked down at Naruto as she spoke again, "Hinata, I distinctly remember hearing you say that you were pleased, albeit surprised, with Naruto's progress." Although her words were directed at her Vice Captain, Kuchiki seemed to be speaking the words simply so that Naruto could hear them. Behind the Captain's back and out of Naruto's view, the corner of Hyuga's lips fell.

"Captain," the tone of Hyuga's voice changed slightly, "I believe that any praise in Uzumaki's direction will only hamper his progress due to his…" there was a pause and a mean smile crept across her face. When Hyuga's voice rang out again it was back to her condescending tone, "… natural arrogance and lack of talent."

Captain Kuchiki's smile remained as she looked down at Naruto. "Naruto," At the sound of his voice emitted from the Captain's lips, Naruto smiled and almost forgot what Hyuga had just said. "Do you believe that you lack talent?" Naruto just stared into Kuchiki's face and nodded, his jaw hanging open now. Kuchiki's smile rose slightly, "Neither do I. Now," the Captain turned to face her now glowering Vice-Captain, "please demonstrate Bakudo number 9 on Hyuga."

Naruto's surprised face turned to face the Vice Captain. He was shocked by hearing the Vice Captain that treated him so awfully referred to by her name alone, but then again, Captain Kuchiki did not need to call her by her title. Now that that initial shock was over, a sly, pleased smile rolled over his lips. He was allowed to, no, required to, use a kidou spell on someone who showed him nothing but utter contempt by Captain Kuchiki. Hyuga was smiling back at him, and Naruto could tell that she did not think he would be able to do it. This sight only fueled his desire to recite the full incantation and make the spell the most powerful possible. Naruto and Hyuga stared at each other right through Captain Kuchiki.

Kuchiki, looking back and forth between Naruto and Hyuga, stepped out from between the two. Both combatants seemed to ready themselves without taking their eyes off each other. Naruto refused to blink as he recited the incantation in his head. Finally, he closed his eyes and spoke in a loud voice, "Disintegrate, black dog of Rondaniini!" In his head, Naruto could see Hyuga looking at him with her evil smile, "Look upon your burning soul and sever your throat!" Naruto opened his eyes and the Hyuga from inside his head was now standing before him, the same smile on her face. Naruto pointed one angry index finger at her. "Bakudo Number 9! Geki!"

From Naruto's outstretched finger came a red light that formed a sphere around Vice Captain Hyuga. Inside the sphere, Hyuga's smile had turned to a look of indifference. Naruto, panting and still pointing, was pleased with himself, and when he chanced a glance at Captain Kuchiki she too look pleased. This brought a smile, a nice smile, to Naruto's face. That smile faded instantly as Naruto looked back at the red sphere and watched as the encircled Vice Captain walked in slow motion out of the sphere. Even though Naruto had recited the incantation perfectly, Hyuga escaped the sphere just as Soki had earlier. As the Vice Captain, now fully out of the sphere, smiled mockingly at Naruto, his eyes shot down to the floor in failure.

"Ha!" To Naruto's surprise, Captain Kuchiki let out a laugh. It wasn't a bitter or condescending laugh; it sounded purely sweet and happy. Naruto's face shot up to face hers. "That was very good Naruto." She laughed again. "It takes a very strong kidou spell to hold back someone at the level of Vice Captain. I am proud of you." At the sound of this an involuntary smile formed on Naruto's face and his feeling of failure slowly faded. Out of both Kuchiki and Naruto's' sight, Hyuga made the slightest grimace.

Lost and entranced by the Captain's smiling face, Naruto did not hear the first part of her words. Something she said, however, a name that he recognized, brought her words into focus. "Kisuke wanted me to keep this a secret from you, but I believe that telling you would only speed up your training." Captain Kuchiki paused as Naruto was left to wonder why he had heard this name twice in the same day. "Would you like to know the secret of the thread wrapped around your hilt, Naruto?" Without even thinking, Naruto nodded. Something strange seemed happen every time he heard the name Kisuke

Naruto's eyes moved from Captain Kuchiki to his zanpaktou's hilt. It wasn't until that moment that he realized that, despite not seeing many zanpaktous, he had never seen any zanpaktou with a thread wrapped around the hilt like his. The orange thread was twisted around in no particular pattern, weaving up and down and leaving large portions of the black hilt visible.

"Not until," Kuchiki's voice brought Naruto's eyes back to her face, "Not until you can completely paralyze Hyuga with you kidou spell." It was a challenge. Naruto's jaw dropped again, but not due to the awe of Captain Kuchiki. This time it was due to the impossible challenge she had presented him with. If he had just so recently failed at the same task, how did she expect him to accomplish it?

Suddenly discouraged, Naruto's eyes drooped down to his feet. From the corner of his eyes he could see a bright light flickering from nearby. Turning his head only slightly, he noticed that the flickering light was actually the thread wrapped around his hilt. It was a very faint flicker, and something told him that only he could see it. Reaching out, he wrapped his around the hilt.

"_Master…_"

Naruto could swear he heard a voice speaking to him in a calm voice. It seemed to come from the sword itself. Just like his encounter with the Hell Butterfly, the voice seemed to speak out, but only he could hear it.

"_Master, you know you can do this…_"

That voice! He had heard it before. It was the voice of the distorted figure that had forced him to look into the blinding orange light; it was the voice of his zanpaktou. His zanpaktou was speaking to him; calling out to him; encouraging him. Something changed inside of him. Naruto knew that he could fully utilize the kidou spell, even against a Vice Captain.

"BAKUDO!"

Naruto's loud voice brought a stunned and alarmed look to both Hyuga and Kuchiki's' faces. Naruto, his eyes still focused on his zanpaktou, knew that both the hated Hyuga and the cherished Kuchiki doubted him, but something inside of him told him that right now he did not need the full incantation. Without effort his reaitsu rose sharply, and his zanpaktou started to glow orange.

"NUMBER 9!"

Naruto's determined eyes turned back to his target: Hyuga. The Vice Captain's eyes were suddenly with fear and shock. She was looking at Naruto, who was now glowing the same vibrant shade of orange as his zanpaktou. Naruto's hand left his zanpaktou and pointed a single finger at Hinata. Kuchiki's smile widened at the same sight.

"GEKI!"

From Naruto's outstretched finger came a dark red light that surrounded Hyuga once again. This sphere of paralyzing light, however, was so much more intense than the last one he had created. It seemed tightly compressed and powerful. This was much smaller sphere, more like an orb, that seemed to wrap around Hyuga's body; had she been able to move even slightly she would have escaped easily. Also, the once transparent red light was now a dark blood red that almost obscured its contents. At once, both Naruto and Kuchiki knew that there was no way the Vice Captain could escape from the paralyzing light.

"That's enough, Naruto." Kuchiki's sweet voice seemed out of place in the intensity of Naruto's head. His eyes turned to the Captain, her smile again wiping everything but joy from his head. The orange reaitsu disappeared, as did the sphere. The now free Hyuga gave a contemptuous 'hmph!' as she straightened her clothes and hair.

Naruto watched Kuchiki raise her hand to her side. Lost in her smile, he did not realize that it was an effort to restrain her Vice Captain who had remained in place; a mutinous look still in her eyes. "So," Kuchiki continued as she lowered her hand, "I guess you've earned your prize."

Slowly, purposefully, Kuchiki walked towards Naruto. Pausing in front of him she reached her hand out towards his zanpaktou; Naruto fought the urge to jerk back and remained still. Instead of grabbing the zanpaktou itself, however, the Captain let the orange thread fall over her hand and raised it to Naruto's eye level. Naruto's eyes were instantly drawn to the thread in her hand and he could swear that a slight growl echoed from his zanpaktou.

"All zanpaktous hold mysteries that we may never fully understand," Kuchiki's eyes narrowed at the thread in her hand, "but Kisuke believes that he has solved the mystery of these very rare threads. This is," Kuchiki let the thread fall but stretched out a finger and ran it up and down the hilt over the coiled thread; another quiet growl escaped, "an age thread."

Naruto's eyes lit up as he pulled his zanpaktou out. He tried to trace the thread with his eyes but was lost in the coiled mess. If this thread measured out his zanpaktou's age it must be older than Naruto could even imagine.

"An age thread?" Naruto thought that the words had escaped his mouth, but it wasn't his voice he heard. Lifting his eyes, he saw that Hyuga's eyes were once again on his zanpaktou's hilt.

"Yes, Hinata. Very few people have threads that wrap around their hilt like Naruto's, and," she let a short pause ring out," I believe there is only one other that has an age thread as long as his." Naruto did not notice as Kuchiki stole a quick glance back at her Vice Captain. Hyuga was now looking down at the hilt of her own zanpaktou with large white eyes.

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Hope you enjoyed... read and review...

Sorry for the long delay in chapters... and for anyone following "Finally Found" I'm working on the ending...


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